When Sandy Munro went to California with the Tesla Model 3 2021 that he and his team are going to take down, we were sure he would speak to Elon Musk on the way. Not in California, since Tesla’s CEO now lives in Texas. And it was there, at Boca Chica, that Munro recorded this almost 49-minute interview with him. In addition to discussing a myriad of topics – structural batteries, mega foundries, autopilot, FSD … – Musk also admitted some production problems.
The first issue was probably the most difficult, in which Munro mentioned the problems he had with the first disassembly he did on a Tesla, a 2018 Model 3. The engineer also encountered problems with the 2021 car, especially in relation to gaps in the dashboard, and mentioned him and Cory Steuben found an absolutely spotless.
Musk said that they tried to improve production and admitted for the first time that the paint on the Model 3 did not always have the time to dry. This could explain the problems of the vehicle in several units, born from the “production hell” that Tesla had with the Model 3. The problem has now apparently disappeared.
Munro then told Musk that the Model 3 seats are the most comfortable he has ever had a chance to use, and they discussed how vertical integration made this possible. According to Munro, having the seats built by a supplier would make them look different on the outside, but equal to the others in their structures.
Munro and Musk later talked about autopilot, and the Canadian engineer said he was really impressed with the FSD. Munro also liked the freedom that the autopilot gave him to check his surroundings while driving – something he never did before, but warned Musk that the autopilot needs to better deal with the difference between state roads.
At that point, the conversation fell into one of Munro’s favorite topics: mega castings. Musk confessed again that there was no way that the body of the Model 3 could be flawless with so many parts. According to Tesla’s CEO, they had the right answers to the wrong manufacturing questions. The right answer was megafundings.
Munro told Musk that he was disappointed to see that the Model 3 did not have the one-piece rear mega casing and the Tesla CEO told the engineer that it was not possible to change the tires of the bus while it moved at 130 km / h on the road .
In other words, only vehicles made in the company’s new plants will receive these structures, because their manufacture will have them face to face. In the Model 3 made at Fremont, this would require stopping production of the car that pays Tesla’s bills.
In those almost 49 minutes, Musk and Munro also talked about the structural battery pack, a more accurate assembly process than this component and the mega fields will allow, that the updated S and X models will not have 12V lithium-ion batteries, the EV crossover point – when electric cars will be the majority on the market – the harness revolution that Model Y promised and failed to deliver, and some final comments.
In them, Munro tried to ask Musk what he thought of the MBAs, short-sellers and went back to the FSD, which Musk said he is trying to promote as safely as possible. Experts in autonomous driving, like John Krafcik, disagree. Jennifer Hommendy, member of NTSB and David Zipper asked the federal government to impose professional tests.
Despite the controversy, Musk said the FSD would take drivers home if it detects that they are sleeping in the car. If they have a health problem, the car will take them to the nearest hospital – probably when they are no longer in beta testing. If you don’t have time to watch it all now, make sure you do it when you can.